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Murder by Manicure

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Is Friday the 13th your lucky day? I’m talking about today, July 13. It could be. (And so could be every Friday for the following three weeks.) I’m teaming up with my friend Joanna Campbell Slan to give away one book a week.

Here’s how to win: Starting today, Joanna and I will post a question. We’ll randomly select an answer (Saturday morning) from the folks who comment. The winner will get her/his choice from a selection of our books. So…mark your calendar and visit our Author Pages TODAY and every Friday for four weeks in total.

I’ve teamed up with over twenty authors to give away a huge collection of thriller and crime fiction audiobooks to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a brand new eReader to the Grand Prize winner! Oh, and did I mention you’ll receive FREE ebooks just for entering? AND you can win my audiobook edition of PERMED TO DEATH, #1 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. Click Here to Enter: http://bit.ly/crimeaudio-apr18

Reader Votes Needed!!!

Daily Voting at the 2018 ABR Audiobook Listener Awards

Murder by Manicure Audiobook is a 2018 ABR Audiobook Listener Award Finalist! Click Here for the Mystery category and scroll down to cast your daily vote for Murder by Manicure. http://bit.ly/2EtgoWg

RONE Awards – Vote for Audiobooks April 30 – May 6

Murder by Manicure Audiobook has also been nominated for a RONE Award sponsored by InD’tale Magazine. Reader voting in the audiobook category will take place April 30 – May 6. Register at http://www.indtale.com so you are eligible to vote. Be sure to click the verification link you receive via email.

• A story can come to life in a whole new way when read by a professional narrator.
• You can listen while working out, driving, or doing chores around the house.
• If you have trouble reading due to vision problems, you can listen to a story instead.
• If you buy the ebook along with the audiobook, you can switch devices using Whispersync and never lose your place!

This was my first time attending the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Ceremony. I won a gold medal in the Southern category for Facials Can Be Fatal. I’d submitted this title in their contest a while ago and forgotten about it until I received an email one day telling me I had won. This was indeed a pleasant surprise! Most writing contests let you know when you’re a finalist, but the winners aren’t announced until the actual event takes place. This usually happens at a conference away from home. I really liked that I knew I’d won ahead of time.

Because the Readers’ Favorite Awards Ceremony was being held nearby, I signed up to attend along with my husband. We checked into the Regency Hotel Miami on Friday afternoon. The hotel is conveniently located near the airport for winners flying in for the ceremony. People came from all over the country, plus Canada and Australia. Since the event didn’t include a full meal, we ordered a snack in the lobby bar/restaurant.

Dress for the event was billed as formal or semi-formal. Ladies wore cocktail dresses or gowns and men for the most part wore jackets and ties. The doors at the hotel’s nightclub opened at 6:00 pm. The evening before on Friday, there had been a Meet and Greet in the lobby, but we hadn’t attended. So I picked up my name badge Saturday night along with a pin and a complimentary pen. Then we took our seats. A cash bar was available in the rear.

I was impressed by the production that made this event special for the award winners. Chairs were draped in white like at a wedding and arranged auditorium style. The stage was flanked by two huge floral bouquets and a back screen projection of the award logo. We could take photos before and after on the stage or over by the official photography station.

The event was filmed, while the photographer took pictures of each candidate standing beside the host. The awards were not called by category, like at other ceremonies. Instead, beginning at 7pm, people sitting in a certain section of the room were directed to line up. One-by-one, we climbed the steps to the dais and handed the emcee a card from our name badge. He read from this card, which included our name, book title, award level and category. Then we proceeded to the center stage to receive our medallion, shake the host’s hand, and pose for the photographer. When one group finished, the emcee called another section to come forward.

This method proved to be efficient as we were done in an hour. A buffet of finger foods followed while contestants mingled. We ate triangles of grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, turkey slices, chicken empanadas, cookies, or pastry. Free soda and coffee were available.

I truly did feel special. My book had been picked by anonymous judges for this honor. There might have been hundreds of submissions. I liked that my story had been evaluated for its merits and wasn’t a popularity contest with votes like some other writing awards. This made it more meaningful, and so did the sponsors for giving winners an evening to showcase their talents.

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If you’re interested in behind the scenes details on Facials Can Be Fatal, my new book release, check out these guest blog posts. Some of them offer giveaways for commenters. Get your bid in before the tour ends. Comments must be made on the site listed. Please support my tour hosts! Hint — One of these posts tells about a derivative of human hair that may end up in your baked goods.

Tropical Treats Giveaway, Feb. 21 – March 14Enter Here to win a Tropical Treats package with a blue scarf, a blue crystal pendant necklace from Effy, a West Indies cookbooks, and a signed hardcover copy of Killer Knots (Bad Hair Day Mystery #9).

Tropical Treats Giveaway, Feb. 21 – March 14Enter Here to win a Tropical Treats package with a blue scarf, a blue crystal pendant necklace from Effy, a West Indies cookbooks, and a signed hardcover copy of Killer Knots (Bad Hair Day Mystery #9).

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29 Days of Summer – Cozy Mystery Giveaway July 11 – Aug. 8
I’ve teamed up with more than 40 cozy mystery authors to give away a huge collection of cozies, PLUS a Kindle Fire to one lucky winner! You can win my novel Permed to Death, plus books from many more of your favorite authors. Enter Here: https://www.booksweeps.com/29-days-summer-cozy-mystery-giveaway